Painting the Roses Red
by Cate Eliot
Summary: The fearless leader of the Serious Crimes Unit is under assault from her ghosts of her past. As the team is exposed to just what secrets Lisbon was hiding, they're forced to help her conquer them to keep the team safe. To make things worse, Jane's acting weird and secretive. And as always Red John is lurking just around the corner.
1. Chapter I: The Façade of Suit and Tie

**A/N: All characters, cases, and locations belong to Bruno Heller, CBS, and affiliates. Please review.**

Grace Van Pelt nervously smoothed her silver dress as she observed the room. The CBI headquarters was covered from head to toe in Christmas decorations. Mistletoe and tinsel hung from the ceilings and the windows, wreathes and bows were strung from door to door. The different departments socialized with one another over drinks and Christmas music.

She had spent several hours on her appearance, trying to make sure it was perfectly in place and appropriate for her first office Christmas party since joining the CBI which was supposedly a big deal in the CBI office; something everyone looked forward to all year.

She had not been working with the team for sixth months before the event and she realized it was the first time she would see them out of the work element. That alone made her dizzy with excitement to finally see some of her more mysterious colleagues in a different light.

As the invitation indicated, she dressed formally for the occasion, even spending money on a new dress and matching shoes. She went for the silver look with matching long earrings and a simple necklace. She braided her hair elegantly out of her face. For the Christmas spirit she even added a red Poinsettia to the end of her braid. She then spent half an hour fluidly applying smoky makeup to enhance her brown eyes, trying to make them stand out more than normal.

She smiled falsely at Lankins from Narcotics as she felt slightly disgusted at the way he looked her up and down as if she were on display. He seemed to be approaching towards her and she felt dread creep into her stomach.

"Later Lankins," a deep voice rumbled from behind Van Pelt.

She exhaled in relief as Kimball Cho came to stand next to her. He was dressed stoically in black and red. His shoulder brushed hers warmly. His face was expressionless other than a slight glare in his dark eyes.

Lankins quietly backed off, but not without a frown. Grace turned to her teammate. "Thanks," she said with a small smile. Cho inclined his head slightly.

"Where is Rigsby and the others?"

"I'm here."

Van Pelt turned to smile at Rigsby who was looking dapper in a black suit and red and green tie. He had his hands shoved awkwardly in his pockets and stood tall next to her. His hair was slicked back and his smelled faintly of aftershave and cologne.

"Wow…" he broke off, shooting a smile at her. She blushed under his scrutiny. "Grace, you look…"

"Amazing. Ravishing. Elegant. Classy. Nice?" Cho listed off, looking straight ahead at the dancers on the floor.

"_Yeah_."

Cho snorted heavily and moved to talk to someone near the food table. "Thanks, Wayne. You look rather dashing yourself." She didn't miss his embarrassed smile. "Where are Jane and Lisbon? I haven't seen them around yet," Grace asked eagerly, wanting to see what her mysterious boss and the elusive consultant were sporting for the party.

"Uh, Jane always likes to be fashionable late, _you know how he is_, and he probably picked up Lisbon. I'm sure they're on their way," Rigsby said with a shrug, eyeing the food table.

"Oh?" Grace said in interest, allowing him to escort her to the table where she accepted a cup of punch with a nod of thanks.

Most of the time it seemed like the two couldn't stand each other, but after only a few weeks, the newbie noticed just how close the Senior Agent and her consultant were. Sometimes during their banter, however sarcastic and brusque it was, there was a moment where their eyes expressed something different than what their words said.

During those hard cases where Jane seemed to trail behind Lisbon, always making sure he was there for her to lean on, showed he did care. His little actions, bringing her coffee in the morning or making sure she didn't skip meals. Grace watched Lisbon's silent comfort for Jane when Red John struck again and again and how he brushed her hand for security when they failed again and again to catch him.

"There they are."

Van Pelt immediately looked up to the entrance where the two people occupying her thoughts had walked in. Van Pelt felt her jaw drop. The two were stunning.

Lisbon's dress was white and long. The gossamer silks linked and spun around her thin and lithe figure, outlining her figure modestly, but enough to make most of the males turn to look at her. Lace and sheer fabrics made their way around her torso, creating a beautiful and soft allusion of moving white ripples.

She wore her usual cross on her collarbone and plain gold earrings to match. Her hair was down, curly around her shoulders. She wore minimal make up, but her brilliant emerald eyes were highlight with a thin line of black and gold eyeliner around them, making the orbs even more noticeable from afar.

Jane had slipped in a black slick tuxedo and white undershirt. He wore a creased bow tie. His golden hair was thrown back like it normally was and a bored, but amused expression lit up his face.

His blue eyes scanned the room, analyzing everything, catching onto Grace's gaze. He smiled slightly at her and inclined his head in a hello. She blushed, being caught, and dropped his gaze.

As the two progressed into the room, Grace noticed as the two caught the attention of many of the others in the room. Lisbon was caught by Bosco. Jane looked him up and down before leaning into Lisbon's ear, whispering something and sauntering away towards them.

"Nice tie, Rigsby," he greeted the two. Rigsby snorted and rolled his eyes annoying. Jane smirked and turned to Grace. "You look lovely as always Grace."

Van Pelt smiled brightly. "You too, Jane! We were getting worried you wouldn't come."

"Ah, well, Lisbon made me drive the speed limit all the way here," as he spoke her name, he glanced over to Lisbon and Bosco's forms engaged in a conversation.

"You are an officer of the law, man," Rigsby jeered, handing him a glass of red wine.

"Meh."

The music slowed to songs more suitable for dancing and she spent a great deal of time allowing Wayne to escort her around the floor. She even danced once with the Deputy AG, an attractive but older man and Jane, who was surprisingly a very good dance partner.

"All right everyone, before this night carries on any longer and the wine runs dry, it's time for the CBI annual Christmas awards," Minelli announced coming to stand in front of the DJ and the dance floors.

The crowd cheered and hooted.

"So let's get this over with as quickly and painless as possible, if you would all assemble back into your teams please."

The Special Agent in Charge wore a slightly too small suit and reindeer ears that he obviously had not put on himself. He had a glass of wine in one hand and a crinkled sheet of paper in the other hand.

Cho and Lisbon came to stand in the back with the rest of the team. Grace noted how Jane moved to stand next to Lisbon, his hand almost touching hers.

"All right, first off, we have the Governor's Appreciation award…"

The awards went in a similar fashion until they neared the end. "Best up and coming agent—Grace Van Pelt, Serious Crimes." A look of disbelief flood the red heads face as she turned to face Lisbon who smiled and nodded towards Minelli. She blushed and walked up to the Director, accepting her small plaque with a happy smile on her face.

"And for the final award…we have the most crimes solved." The room immediately quieted down. "As you remember last year, there was a wager made by the Gang Unit that they would do all they could to unseat SCU from their twelve year reign. Now it's the moment of truth…"

A silence huddled for a moment and Minelli read his note again before looking up towards the crowd.

"This year, Lisbon and her team solved one hundred and twenty three cases." There were shouts and hoots heard all around. "And the Hernandez and Gang Unit solved ninety three cases. SCU wins!"

Van Pelt cheered loudly as Lisbon was pushed forward and laughed even harder when she returned to view with a plastic crown on her head. There was celebration all around and even Jane looked slightly embarrassed at all the attention. Handshakes and claps on the back were dueled out and even Cho smiled.

"Long live the queen!"

Similar shouts echoed around the building and the music was switched back on. It took several minutes of congratulations before Lisbon and her team made it back together, slightly breathless.

"Shows them," Rigsby said, smirking in the Gang Unit's direction and Jane chuckled under his breath.

"Now, now, Rigsby," Jane said with a raised eyebrow, "let's not be sore winners. That's no way to be profession."

"Right 'cause you're the epitome of profession," Lisbon jabbed sarcastically.

Jane turned to face the other agents who were glaring pointedly at him and stuck his tongue out. Satisfied he turned back to the ground, taking Lisbon by the hand and leading her to the dance floor.

"Wha- but he just…"

Rigsby glared over at the consultant who was paying attention as he swung Lisbon elaborate on the dance floor, with her plastic gold crown in her hair.

They looked different, Van Pelt decided, more relaxed, more themselves. Lisbon seemed to have no problem allowing Jane to swing her around the floor, clearly showing up the rest of the dance partners. Jane smiled broadly as he led around the small, but mighty agent.

Lisbon was smirking, and trying not to laugh, as Jane twirled her extravagantly as the song ended and then escorted her off the impromptu dance floor.

"Drink, your highness?"

Lisbon rolled her eyes, but accepted the wine glass from Jane. "Did you hear about the case O'Malley's team got last week?"

Lisbon shook her head, but before Cho could continue, Lisbon's phone rang shrilly, startling some of the nearby party guests. She had it up to her ear before the second ring.

"Lisbon."

"Not a murder? It's almost Christmas," Grace whispered, discouraged. She sat down next to Rigsby and Cho, watching Lisbon's face as she spoke to the person on the other end.

"Murder doesn't take a holiday."

Van Pelt shot a glare at Cho. "It's so sad. That poor family."

Lisbon's eye grew and her hand found the window pane to steady herself.

"Something's not right," Jane said with a frown as he moved forward towards the Senior Agent.

"What?" Lisbon snapped, suddenly alert. "No, stay calm. Don't panic. Have them text me the hospital details when you get there. No, you stay there. Pack a bag for you and Karen and don't leave the hospital once you get there. Don't tell anyone where you're going. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Boss?"

Lisbon ignored Rigsby's question and purposefully walked across the room towards Minelli. They spoke a short, but tense conversation and Jane followed her.

"Lisbon?"

He frowned.

"Lisbon, talk to me. What's happened?"

"Family emergency, Jane," she said shortly, grabbing her jacket from the pile on one of the spare couches. "Stay out of trouble until I get back."

"Boss, it everything okay?" Cho voiced the other's concerns as they watched the dark hair woman prepare for her departure from the party.

"Everything will be fine. I've…just gotta take care something. I call you with the detail later. Keep Jane from getting arrested until I'm back."

She shoved her phone and keys into her pocket and was out the door before Grace could wish her a "Merry Christmas."


	2. Chapter II: What's Hidden Underneath

**A/N: All characters, cases, and locations belong to Bruno Heller, CBS, and affiliates. Please review.**

"Grace, I need you to look up a name for me?"

Grace looked up from her computer to see Jane peering intently at her from his couch. It had been five days since Christmas and though there were no current cases, they were all required to be present, scanning through cold cases and doing the necessary evil of paper work.

"Sure," she said, thankful for an excuse to stop doing the mountain of paperwork accumulated on her desk top. Jane, back in his usual three piece suit, came to stand behind her desk.

"The name is James Lisbon."

There was a silence that grew. "Leave it alone, man," Cho called over from his desk. "She'll call when she's ready."

Rigsby had frozen from his game of faux basketball with paper balls and a large trashcan he had stolen from Lisbon's office.

"Jane, I don't know about this…"

"It will be fine. I'm sure Lisbon is fine, but when she returns we want to be there for her, thus we need to know the basics about what's happened. So, if you would…"

He gestured to the monitor.

She sighed, but her fingers hit the keys accordingly. "James Marcus Lisbon, age forty six. Married to Elizabeth Warren. There's not much here. Only a case number for an evidence box. Number 8976223."

"Did he commit a crime?" Rigsby said, rolling his chair over quickly to look at the screen. "What'd ya thinks in the box?"

"Doesn't matter," Cho said, not looking up from his book.

Grace turned her face up to look at Jane who was intently reading the screen. His eyes paused on the numbers and he hesitated slightly.

"Find the box," Jane said softly. "Wait until everyone leaves tonight, then we'll go through it. Tell no one and make sure Minelli doesn't find out."

"Make sure Minelli doesn't find out what?"

The CBI boss stood at the opening of the room with his arms crossed against his chest. "Nothing," Jane said smoothly. "Just some party planning for dear Lisbon."

"Hm," he said with his eyes narrowed. "She just called."

"What?"

Jane perked to attention.

"What did she say?"

Minelli frowned slightly. "Not much. That she had taken care of whatever the hell it was and was going to be on the first flight home."

"That's it?"

A look of frustration crossed the boss' face. His brown eyes narrowed. "Yes, that's it, Jane! You don't think I tried for more than that? She practically hung up on me."

"How did she sound?" Jane moved forward, towards Minelli. "Angry or sad or frustrated?"

"Call her yourself, Jane," he said tiredly.

Jane frowned, but let the man walk away. He didn't turn around, but said, "Tonight."

***CBI***

"A disk? That's it? Serious?"

Rigsby tossed the disk on the table with a frown. "What about reports, photos, bloody clothes?"

The CBI office was dark and eerily quiet except for the Serious Crimes bull pen which was alight with curiosity and mystery.

Van Pelt grabbed the disk, plugging it into her computer. "We shouldn't be snooping anyway," Cho said stubbornly. "Whatever's going on it, it's the boss' business. She wouldn't want us invading her privacy without her permission."

"Meh," Jane said, examining the box. "This is the best way to help Lisbon. She'll thank us for it in the end."

"No she won't."

"Whose side are you on Cho?"

"Guys, there's a video on this disk," Grace interrupted, her mouse clicking to unlock the file.

The team quickly gathered around the monitor and the file opened to reveal one of the interrogation rooms.

_Three boys sat across from the detectives. He wore a blue suit and had a clean shaven face. The woman was tall and muscular with close cropped hair. Her green eyes watched the three boys, ranging from ages thirteen to five with a slight sadness. _

_The more startling thing than their appearances were the bright and fading color bruises marring their skin in various places._

"What's going on?" Rigsby asked, only to be shushed by the three others.

"_Can you tell me your names and your ages for the record, boys?" the man asked gently._

"_James Lisbon. Thirteen."_

_The oldest boy was tall with darker blonde hair. He was tanned and wore a too big tee shirt over his jeans. He sat closest to the wall, not making eye contact with anyone._

"_I'm Drew. I'm ten."_

_The middle boy seemed to be ten or eleven and had darker hair, brownish. He had freckles marking his cheeks. He sported a black eye that seemed a week old. _

"_I'm Tommy and I'm six years old," the youngest boy said proudly. The boy had hazel hair and clung to a dilapidated teddy bear that had obviously been sewn and resewn many times due to wear and tear. He had shadows of fading yellow bruising on his cheeks. _

"_Thank you. We've-"_

"_But you forgot Reese!" the youngest boy said, his face lighting up with a smile. "She's sixteen! That's really old. But she's little, so she doesn't look that old."_

"_Teresa's your older sister, right?" the woman asked._

"_Yep! Where is Reese? Isn't she supposed to answer some questions too?" _

"_She's busy right now, Tommy, but I'm sure you'll be able to see her soon," the man said quickly. "Can you boys tell me what happened this morning around three AM?" _

_The three boys were silent before the middle boy spoke. "We were all sleeping upstairs when shouting woke us up. We were trying to go back to sl-leep…when…when there was this weird popping noise. Kinda like fireworks." _

_He swallowed and ringed his hands nervous in his lap, casting his eye down. _

"_It's okay, Andrew, there's not a wrong answer. Just tell me what happened."_

"_And…then James and I went downstairs to check on Reese…"_

_Tears welled up in the boy's eyes. "There was blood everywhere. All over the floor and all over Reese…"_

"_Do you remember where your father was while his happened?"_

_Andrew glanced towards the older brother and he finally looked towards his smaller brother. "I thought he had passed out after firing the gun. I had Drew call the police and told Tommy not to come out of the room. I didn't know he…"_

_The boy trailed off. _

"_What can you tell me about your father, boys? Don't be afraid to be honest. No one can hurt you here."_

"_Sometimes he makes Reese cry," Tommy said sadly. _

"_Tommy!" James hissed, suddenly looking very alarmed and threatening at his youngest brother. Moore leaned forward towards the youngest boy gently. _

"_Does that happen often, your dad making your sister cry?" he asked quietly, keeping eye contact with the boy. _

_He frown thoughtfully, keeping a tight hand on his teddy bear. "Reese never cries. Only sometimes. Then she goes into the bathroom and locks the door. She takes hours in the shower and when she comes back out, she doesn't cry anymore."_

"_TOMMY!"_

Van Pelt jerked back from the screen and knelt down on the floor, making it to the trash can just in time to direct the food she had for lunch into the can. Rigsby knelt beside her, rubbing her back comfortingly.

All the implications were there, in Tommy's childlike ignorance. Jane looked furious, but didn't move from his seat. Cho kept swallowing thickly, trying to keep himself under control.

"_Leave me alone, Jamie," the boy cried, tucking his chin towards his knee, curling up onto of himself. "I want to see Reese. Where's Reese?" _

_The young boy began to go further and further into hysterics. Agent Moore stood up finally and got the social worker and the woman detective to help Tommy outside._

_His sighed and ran a hand over his face. When he turned back to two boys, they stared back quietly. For a moment no one spoke. _

"_How long has this been going on boys?"_

_Drew looked over to James who stared at the opposite wall without speaking. "Since mom died. Three years, almost four," he whispered, his voice cracking. _

_He looked the most like Lisbon with darker hazel hair and paler skin. He had a handful of freckles on each cheek, but not her green eyes. The twelve year old was tall for his age, but thin and lanky. _

"_Your mother died in a drunk driving accident? On January ninth almost four year previous, they were T-boned driving into your neighborhood. The accident report says your sister was in the passenger seat?" Moore looked up at the boys. _

Van Pelt's hand flew to her mouth with a strangled gasp.

"_Yeah, Reese and mom went to the store and we got the call in the morning. Mom was…they…think she died on impact. Reese got pinned under the dash and couldn't get out. It took them hours to…to drag her out. The man walked away without a scratch," Drew said. _

_His voice was monotone, only cracking with each new thought. _

"_How did your father handle that?" Moore probed gently. _

_Drew laughed bitterly. _

"_He was a fireman and didn't get home 'til the day after. He started to drink the night after the funeral…and didn't stop. He was fired a year later for trying to work drunk."_

_A flicker of confusion crossed Moore's face and he consulted his file. "But your family has a three bedroom house, how did you managed to keep paying rent if your father's been unemployed for three years?" _

_Drew frowned, confused. He turned to look at James who kept looking straight ahead. "I don't know. Reese always took care of everything."_

"_Why didn't you go to the police? They could—"_

"_We did," James interrupted savagely turning back to the conversation. "Teresa and I went after sixth months, but they said they couldn't do anything about it. They didn't believe our story, they said. They refused to help and now he's gone and shot himself and Reese!"_

_Drew cringed in his seat from his brother's outburst. "Don't say stuff like that, Jamie."_

"_Why not? I hope he rots in hell for what he did to her. To us." The teen crossed his arm and went back to staring at the wall. _

"_I…I should go and check on Tommy. You know what he's like without Reese." The younger boy got up from the table and exited through the glass doors._

"_Now what?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Now what? We're free of him. Now what?"_

_Moore smiled sadly at him. "You try to move on with your life. Try to forget it."_

_James laughed bitterly. "You saw what he did to Teresa. She's the worst of us. He always targeted her more than us. Think its cause she looks just like our mom. No matter how hard she tried, Reese couldn't always protect us. Even Tommy's got marks. We'll always have the scars. There's no way to forget them."_

The video shut down and just the file box remained open. There was a long silence before anyone else spoke. The quiet was filled with the beating of hearts, the wind whistling against the outside window, and the hum of the running computer.

Cho was the one to break the silence.

"There's another video."


	3. Chapter III: The Wounded Protector

**A/N: All characters, cases, and locations belong to Bruno Heller, CBS, and affiliates. Thank you for all the reviews. We're going to see what the videos and Lisbon's family emergency have to do with each other in the next chapter. As always, please review.**

There was only a heartbeat before the sound of the mouse clicking on the second and last video file. The file opened to reveal a very white looking hospital wing.

_The camera moved slightly only to settle on a view of the empty bed, filled with ruffled sheets and a table filled with bloody bandages and tape. _

"_You shouldn't be out of bed," the voice of the male detective from the other video spoke as he walked into view. The camera view followed him to expose a dark hair girl in curled up in the window seat, looking out into street below the window. _

_She wore a white and blue hospital gown and had detached the IV cords from the monitor to have them hanging from the back of her hand, nearly brushing the ground from where she sat. She didn't turn to face him. _

"_When can I take my brothers home?"_

"_You were shot, Teresa," the man said gently._

"_I'm well aware of that. You can't lock me in a room when I've done nothing wrong. I have a right to see them." _

_She was small and terribly thin. She had a thin build with pale and freckled skin. Purple and blue bruises could be seen on her bare legs, folded under her. Her hair was dark and curly. It was messily plaited away from her face to reveal bright and brilliant green eyes and a sprinkle of freckles along her nose. _

"_It's for your protection," the man said gently, seating himself in the plastic chair near her. "You could still be in danger."_

"_My father shot himself after he put three rounds through me. I doubt he can do any more harm now," Lisbon said briskly, watching the man carefully for a few seconds before turning back towards her window. _

_The detective ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward towards the girl. "Teresa, four years ago you were at the top of your class, taking AP classes, you were first chair in clarinet, star track runner, and then nothing. No clarinet, no track, nothing. You dropped out of everything. Why?" _

_The girl laughed bitterly. "Someone had to do something after my mother died," she said after a moment quietly. "Everything was a mess and somebody had to fix it."_

"_That's an awful lot of responsibility on a thirteen year old girl."_

_Lisbon didn't answer, but wrapped her arms around her torso, as if she needed more warmth._

"_What have you done with my brothers?"_

"_They've been checked out by the doctor and other than the scrapes and bruises, they seem to have no long lasting damage, unlike you, I might add. They're at a hotel with a social worker and two of our detectives."_

"_When can I see them?"_

"_Soon. The doctors almost lost you twice in surgery and it took you three days to come out of the coma. They want to keep you for the rest of the week. You're not even supposed to be out the bed yet," he said slightly frowning, "they're a little more worried about the internal damage you've collected over the past few months. They could have killed you if you hadn't gotten medical attention soon. Teresa, I need you to tell me what happened with you father."_

"_You already have the report. He came home drunk, he had a gun. He shot at me and then took his own life. End of story. I assume one of my brothers called 911 and you people ended up there," she snapped, coldly. _

"_I need more than that. I need you to go through it with me, I need all the details. I know it's hard, but I need you to trust me with those details."_

"_Trust you? I don't even know you. You've locked me in a hospital room, you've confiscated my brothers, and you refuse to let me see them," she said, whirling around to look at him. _

_A long and angry scar started and her collar bone and trailed down into the hospital gown. Her eyes had deep bags under them from stress and sleepless nights. She had purple handprints on her forearms where someone had grabbed her and handful of cigarette burns on her upper arms. No one could guess what lied under the gown. _

"_I told the last officer that was in here demanding answers. I was in the study doing homework when the front door opened and my father came inside. It was maybe two thirty in the morning. I had already put the boys to bed upstairs. He stumbled in, yelling about gods knows what and I thought he had a bottle in his hand so I got up to try and get it from him. _

"_The last time he brought one home, he tried to slam it down on Tommy's head and luckily I was home to stop it or else Tommy would be dead. I coaxed the bottle from him and he got angry and it shattered on the wall. _

"_Then he reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a gun. Look like a revolver, probably a 32 caliber. He pointed it at me, mistaking me from my mother and getting angry about an affair that didn't happened, saying something about leaving everyone. He does that; making things up in his head that never happened when she was alive," she reeled off without stopping. _

_Lisbon took a breath and folded herself back in the corner of the window seat. Detective Moore didn't move or speak, but kept intently watching her. _

"_Then he cocked the gun and fired it once. I got out of the way and the bullet hit the kitchen counter. The noise startled him out of whatever fantasy he was in. He got even more upset with me. I thought he was going to fire again and I started to try and take the gun. The next thing I remember was feeling…like I had been set on fire. I landed on the kitchen floor and I heard another two shots. Then nothing."_

_She hadn't broken eye contact and her emeralds of eyes continue to bear into the officer's until he cleared his throat. "There were drag marks of on the hardwood floors, from where you landed to where your father's body was found DOA when the first responders came. You tried to reach him. The first bullet hit your shoulder, a threw and threw. The second buried itself in your stomach missing any vital organs. That was probably why you fell. The third bullet hit you in the chest. Another three centimeters and you would be paralyzed from the neck down, but you still managed to drag yourself ten feet to try and resuscitate the man who just shot you." _

"_Was there a question in that, Officer?"_

_He took her tone as a good reason to leave her alone. "I will tell the doctors that you can be released as soon as possible. Some of your father's fire fighter coworkers have been coming by trying to see you. Something about the funeral arrangement, but the officer outside has refused any entrance. Do you have someone we can call for you? Another family member?"_

_Teresa turned back towards the window. "No. My grandparents are dead and my parents were only children. There's no one." _

_The man frowned, sadly as the girl seemed to lose herself in the reflection outside again _

"_You protected them, you know. You managed to keep them all alive and now you can move on with your life. As the bravest of them, you survived Teresa."_

"_Goodbye Officer Moore."_

_The man sighed and cut in front of the camera, clicking it off, turning the screen black._

"We should have left it alone," Rigsby said as Grace scrubbed at her tear filled eyes. "She wouldn't like that we watched this."

"There's nothing we can do about it now."

The hard tone Jane had adopted made the others turn towards him. His face was expressionless and his hands curled into fists at his side.

"Act normal. If you don't you'll tip her off that we know and she'll never forgive us. Just…just forget you saw it."

"We could just tell her. I don't want to have to look at her every day and think about how not to mention the video," Grace began, but Jane cut her off.

"No. You don't know Lisbon like I do. She doesn't want any of you to know. Just…just leave it alone and go home," he said angrily, stalking back towards Lisbon's empty office and slamming the door. 


	4. Chapter IV: Return of the Hero

**A/N: All characters, cases, and locations belong to Bruno Heller, CBS, and affiliates. Thank you for all the interest and comments on this story. I'm really enjoying it so far. As always, please review.**

When Teresa Lisbon entered her office, she was very surprised to find Patrick Jane asleep on the couch in her office. She frowned, setting her briefcase on her desk, and checked her watch.

It was almost five in the morning.

She had arrived back from Chicago the previous day and succeed in getting no sleep. Instead of wasting more time staring at the ceiling her bedroom, she got dressed and came to work. Who knew what kind of trouble he had cause while she was gone.

She sighed and was tempted to wake him. His insomnia convinced her to let him sleep a little longer. She draped the blanket she always kept on the back of the leather on top of him, smiling as he snuggled underneath the warmth.

She sighed and settled down behind her desk, moving through the stacks of paperwork as the sun began to rise in her office windows.

She was halfway through a form 41 when Jane began to mutter under his breath. She looked up from the folder to see his brow furrow and him to grimace. His eyes were still shut, but it was clearly not helping him to be sleeping any longer. She closed the folder and stood up. No one liked to be stuck in a nightmare and only God knew what Jane's could be about.

As she was walking over to him, he began to quake slightly under the blanket. "Lisbon," he muttered. Lisbon felt her breath hitch.

She kneeled down next to the couch. "Jane," she called to him softly. "Jane. It's okay. Just a bad dream," she tried to soothe him, but it didn't seem to reach him.

"Jane," she tried a little louder with a small shake. This seemed to jerk him out of his daze.

"Lisbon?" he said, his eyes red and large as he stared at her, clearly confused.

"Good morning sunshine," she said, sitting back on her feet, not sure if she wanted to push him into revealing the nature of his dream with her.

"Lisbon," he repeated, still not yet awake. "You're back." This seemed to reassure him because he sat up crookedly and hugged her tightly.

The shock of the intimate gesture quickly wore off and she pressed her cheek into his shoulder, feeding off his warmth and the security of his arms. As quickly as it happened, it was over and Jane's eyes were boring over her every feature, seemingly taking stock of every part of her.

"Well I couldn't leave you to destroy the CBI building could I?" she asked. "That would simply be unpatriotic."

"I'll have you know that I was perfectly well behaved," he declared before standing to his feet and disappearing from her office before she could respond.

Lisbon frowned with the strange behavior of her consultant, but climbed back to her feet and continued with her paperwork. When was anything normal with Patrick Jane anyways?

***CBI***

By the time she returned from her office, it had been several hours. She watched from the glass doors as Cho and Van Pelt arrived on time with Rigsby running behind late as usual.

She smiled slightly as she got up and walked towards the bull pen. Though she'd never tell them, she'd missed them.

"Think she'll be back, soon?" she heard Van Pelt asked as she turned into the bullpen.

"I think she already is," Cho said, nodding towards her.

"Boss!" Van Pelt shouted, leaping up from her chair and hugging her tightly. Almost knocked over by the taller woman, Lisbon patted her back awkwardly. She could see Cho's smirk from across the room.

Lisbon frowned, slightly taken back by the large welcome. "I missed you too, Grace. I was only gone for a week."

Grace pulled back and smiled watery, scrubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse. "Uh, right. Well, welcome back."

She sat back down at her desk, slightly pink.

"Yeah, welcome back, boss," Rigsby echoed. She smiled at them. She turned to Cho and took the outstretched file folder.

"Is everything all right?" he asked, his normally expressionless eyes, brimming with concern.

"Yeah, just some trouble. I took care of it. Any new cases while I was gone?" she asked, sitting on the edge of an empty desk in front of Grace's.

"Nothing new. All seems quiet on the home front," Rigsby said. "We've just kind of been catching up on paperwork and stuff."

Lisbon raised an eyebrow. "And by catching up on paperwork, you mean playing paper basketball and surfing the internet."

Rigsby turned red and shrugged. "No idea what you're talking about, boss."

"Teresa?"

Lisbon turned to see Sam Bosco standing in the doorway to the bullpen. She returned his smile without another thought. The bald team leader wore a slightly large navy suit and a striped black tie.

"Glad you're back. Got a second?" he asked lightly, nodding towards the other room.

"Sure," she said, getting to her feet. "Check with Ardellies for any upcoming cases."

She turned and followed Bosco out into the kitchen area. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rigsby whispering to Van Pelt at her desk.

"How's James doing? Minelli told me," he added at her suspicious gaze.

She leaned against the wall, observing Bosco carefully before answering. "Better. Doctors said the bullet missed any major organs, but he lost a lot of blood from the exit wound," she said, running a hand over her eyes.

When she removed them, she saw Bosco's concerned gaze. "When was the last time you slept, Lisbon."

"I'm fine, Sam, really."

"Any word on the guy who shot him?"

Lisbon shook her head, her curls bouncing. "No sign. James says he doesn't remember what the perp looks like and the brass had no hits in AFIS."

"Damn. Do you think he'll be back to finish the job?" Bosco stuck his hands in his pockets. Lisbon shook her head.

"No, but the local PD said they would keep an eye on James and his ex-wife just in case. He's probably already skipped town."

Bosco frowned slightly, but nodded. "Well, if you need anything Lisbon, be sure to ask, all right?"

"Thanks, Bosco."

He put a concerned hand on her arm. Her eyes leapt up to his before he spoke again.

"Anything Teresa, okay?"

"Okay," she repeated.

"No interrupting anything am I?" Bosco's hand leapt off her arm as he turned to see Jane standing in front of the counter.

"No," Bosco said quickly. "See you around, Lisbon. Jane." He made his exit as Jane walked up to Lisbon, handing her a steaming cup of coffee. She nodded her thanks.

"Why did you lie to Bosco about your brother?"

Lisbon coughed and moved back the cup from her lips. "I beg your pardon."

"Don't try to divert me, Lisbon," Jane said, busying himself with the tea kettle. "You lied. I know when you're lying. I know what I saw. What really happened in Chicago?"

"I did not lie to Bosco, Jane," she said with a frown.

"Yes you did. We can do this all day. Are you in trouble, Lisbon?" he turned to face her. His normal arrogance and sarcasm had faded into a mask of pure concern and worry.

Lisbon bit the inside of her lip to keep her face emotionless. "I'm not in trouble and nothing happened that I couldn't take care of, okay?"

Jane continued to study her until the tea kettle whistled. Lisbon moved to walk back to the bullpen, when Jane's hand caught her arm and turned her back to him.

"Will you tell me what happened? I … I want to help."

"You can't help me, Jane," she said, turning away.

"Please, Lisbon," Jane said, his voice making her turn back to face him. His large blue eyes marked her green ones. "I want to … make sure you're safe."

"I can take care of myself."

"I have no doubt about that. Humor a poor man's soul, Teresa."

She didn't move for a moment and the use of her Christian name was not lost on her. Finally she sighed and shrugged half-heartedly.

"Later."

Jane's smile was brilliant.

"Thank you Lisbon."

She rolled her eyes and the two walked back towards the bullpen with their usual coffee and tea in hand. Cho jerked his head in greeting.

"The Samuels case is going to trial next week, boss," Grace said. "You and Cho are called as witness, but other than that it seems we don't have much to do."

"You do now," Minelli's voice said loudly as he came purposely walked into the bull pen. A grim frown lit his features.

"We caught a case, boss?" Lisbon asked. At Minelli's look she too frowned. "Virgil, what's happened?"

He sighed and handed her a thick file folder. She accepted it without question. Minelli ran a hand over his head and turned to look at the whole group.

"The Artist is back."


	5. Chapter V: Footprints in the Sand

**A/N: All characters, cases, and locations belong to Bruno Heller, CBS, and affiliates. I now have an idea of the outline of the story with another chapter almost finished. I'm really pleased that everyone's been enjoying the story. As always, please review.**

The car was silent on the way there. Cho's hands moved on the wheel in the front as Lisbon's eyes were glued to the landscape out the window.

Jane seemed unconcerned in the back, his head leaning against the side of the car, watching Rigsby awkwardly twiddling his thumbs.

Finally Grace spoke.

"Who's the Artist?"

There was a short silence in the car and for a moment it was like she hadn't spoken. Then Lisbon turned in her seat to look in the back of the car.

Her green eyes were on fire and serious.

"A serial killer who, after four years of nothing, seems to have reemerged suddenly."

"Did you work the case back then, boss?" Rigsby asked quietly. "I remember hearing about it in the Academy."

"Yeah, back when it was just Cho, Hannigan, and me."

"What's his MO?"

Cho glanced over at Lisbon and cleared his throat. "He kidnaps women from ages fifteen to thirty. Hold them for 72 hours where he slowly tortures them, eventually painting a picture relating to his next victim somewhere near the body, normally with some kind of code."

Van Pelt's face paled considerably.

"That's awful. How … how many victims?"

"Fourteen."

Lisbon pointed towards a pale beach house on the road ahead. "213 Srarksen Place."

"Vicitim is Heather Marks, age twenty two. She lives in Malibu with her parents and one brother."

The team pulled up to the beach house which sat only a few feet from the ocean sands. Several people were crowded around the police tape and it seemed that a news crew was setting up behind it.

The house was big, but cozy on the outside with white wood work and pale blue paneling that matched the ocean in the early morning light.

A young detective in his mid-twenties approached them in a stiff police uniform. His bronze hair was cut short and his still boyish face had round glasses perched on his nose.

"Agent Lisbon with the CBI?"

He extended a hand which Lisbon shook.

"That's me. You were the responding officer?" Lisbon asked, snapping a pair of latex gloves on her hands as they walked inside.

"Erm, yes ma'am. Officer Connor Donnelly. We got a distressed 911 call from the family who was renting the beach house. They caught the body and alerted the people staying next door. She was already like that when we arrived."

Lisbon nodded as she and Jane ventured back into the house with the others just a step behind. The door led into a light and airy kitchen.

"Where's the body?" Cho asked as they looked around the house.

"In the bedroom, but the ME already examined the body and moved it before the SFPD noticed it was part of the Artist's MO," Lisbon answered, rummaging through the mail sitting on the pristine counter.

"Jane, thoughts?"

The consultant was looking out at the ocean from the kitchen window. "Hmm? Oh, a few. Lovely view from here. She was here to escape, unhappy relationship, probably. Parents come from good money, but they didn't get along, probably because she was the 'problem child' of the family."

"Oh, yeah, how'd ya figure?" Donnelly said from the doorway with his arms folded over his chest.

"I'm a consultant, it's what I do," Jane said snappishly. "Lisbon, I think we should see the bedroom before heading out."

"Sure thing, this way." The young and eager officer nodded towards the hallway leading towards the back of the beach house.

Lisbon turned towards the team. "Rigs, Van Pelt, see if anyone saw anything. Any little detail will help."

"Got it, boss," they said together.

She turned and they followed Donnelly towards the bedroom.

"That was a nice thing you did back there, Lisbon," Jane said sincerely as he followed behind her. "Not making Van Pelt and Rigsby see the mess the Artist left behind for us."

"Grow up," she hissed under her breath.

He just smiled, his hand lightly touching the small of her back as they pushed through the partially cracked door into the small bedroom.

Large window allowed the sun to stream through the glint off of the large pooling of blood. The white furniture and nicely made bed was splattered and stained with crimson blood.

Larger pools of blood littered the floor and stretches marked where she struggled. On the wall behind the bed was a small mural.

The picture were cruelly and poorly depicted. It seemed to be a younger girl inside of a cage, floating with her face looking up. There was a backdrop of green and blue patterns behind her. There was a large X over her heart. The number 5,567 was written under the cage in red paint that dripped down like blood to the floor where the now dry paint pooled.

There was silence again as the three detectives moved around the room, all avoiding the mural, except for Jane who stood in the middle of the room, his blue eyes analyzing it.

"What do you think it means?" Donnelly asked him. Jane glanced up at him looking mildly irked.

"No idea. We'll let you know if we find anything, look out for that blood, would you?" Donnelly immediately looked down and Jane turned to Lisbon who was going through the drawers.

"I think I've seen enough Lisbon, can we drive back to the office now?"

She looked up from the drawers and dejectedly shoved it back in. "I send another forensic team down here and have then analyze the scene. In the mean while let's see what Van Pelt and Rigsby have, _then_ we can go home."

The two agents in question stood in front of the house with their small notebooks out and a pile of papers.

"Agent Lisbon! Agent Lisbon. Is it true that the Artist has struck again? Has the killer made any contact with you about his next victims?"

The annoying huff was clearly audible as Lisbon made her way down the stairs. The press was leaning over the tape trying to get as close as possible to the agent.

"This is an ongoing investigation. We are unable to comment at this. If you would please vacate the premise," she said calmly and loudly.

She turned in the yard to the rest of her team. "What do we have?"

"Neighbors saw nothing much. We have a list of people that the witnesses went to for help. There are nine all together on the list," Van Pelt said looking over the packet of printed names in her hands. "Boss, there's an Aurelia Lisbon on this list. Any relation?"

Lisbon frowned slightly and took the paper from the red head's offered hand. Her eyes marked the paper with names and addressed on it.

"None. That's a strange coincidence." She frowned hard for a moment before shaking it off and regaining her boss attitude. "All right, let's pack up and get back to the office. The Artist normally works fasts, so let's get a move on. Officer Donnelly, we'll be in touch for anything your techs may have collected."

"Of course," the younger man said a little too eagerly. Both Jane and Rigsby smirked slightly.

"Come on, Lisbon, let's walk on the sand," Jane said, pulling the cuff of her blazer towards the ocean. "Beautiful, isn't?"

Away from the crime scene, Jane turned to look at the young next to him with a bright smile. "Sure," she said dryly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as the wind blew it in her face.

"Come now, woman, don't you enjoy the ocean?"

Jane stretched dramatically and breathed in the salty. Lisbon rolled her eyes and stuck her hands in the back of her pockets.

"Wanna talk about what's bothering you?"

She turned to glare at Jane. "Nope," she said calmly, turning her face away from his.

"You don't need to always bury your emotions, Lisbon. It's good to let it out once in a while. I'm here if you want to just, you know, let it out."

"Says the pot to the kettle," she quipped lightly.

"Lisbon," he said quietly, his fingers lightly touching her arm. "If you need me…" he trailed off, watching her facial expressions carefully.

She pulled away after a moment of not speaking. "Get in the car, Jane, we have a case to solve."


End file.
